Concrete Angel
by Peggywolf14
Summary: ON HIATUS. James Possible is an abusive husband and father. After an accident that kills Anne, him and his daughter, Kim, are forced to move to a town called Middleton. Kim believes that her life is worthless. That is until she meets Ron Stoppable.
1. Chapter 1: Middleton

**Peggy:** I did it again. I just couldn't wait to finish my other ones to post this. Luckily it's finished so it won't take out anytime for writing my other fics. I'm just not going to post this all at once. This whole story is inspired by the song "Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride. It's not a songfic though, except I did include a different song in another chapter. I know I could have used this idea for pretty much any fandom, but I thought Kim Possible would be fun. So yeah this story is basically AU and KimRon.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters or anything associated with Kim Possible. Don't sue me!!!

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The auburn haired girl looked out the car window at the cloudy sky. Her emerald green eyes were glazed over from crying. She took a chance at sneaking a peek at her father. He was driving, jaw set, face determined. He scared her so much, but she could never escape. She let out a sad sigh and turned back to the window as it began to rain.

Her father pulled the car up into the drive way of their new home. He turned off the engine and turned to his daughter, "Get you stuff." His voice was gruff and filled with anger, but by now she had gotten used to it. She grabbed her small suitcase out of the back of the car.

That's all she had. A couple pairs of cloths and a special stuffed animal, Pandaroo. She didn't care that she was 16 and still slept with her stuffed animal. It was the only thing she had to remind her of her mother. She winced picking up the case. The bruise on her arm still hurt. She followed her father to the front door of their new home. The two had been forced to move to Middleton due to circumstances that the girl didn't care to remember.

After unlocking the door, her dad pushed passed her, nearly knocking her on the ground. She watched him go back to the car to grab the rest of the stuff. They still had to wait for the moving truck to get here before putting the house together.

"You're new room is in the loft." James Possible told his daughter as he pushed past her again.

"But sir, there are two rooms in this house. Why can't I have one of those?" She asked, using the name that he had demanded she call him.

"Kimberly Anne Possible! You should know by now _**not**_ to talk back to me!" James glared at his daughter, his eyes burning into hers like daggers. "You will sleep were I tell you too or you will sleep outside!"

Kim coward back from him, shaking slightly. "Y...yes sir."

The loft was old, dusty, disgusting, but she knew that if she wanted to sleep in a house this was it. She threw her suitcase on the floor and plopped down next to it. The tears began again. Since her father had told her they were moving she found it hard to hold the tears back. What most likely hurt her most was now she knew that her mother was really gone. She wasn't coming back.

The loft door was thrust open and James entered. "The moving trucks here. Get down her and help them with your bed."

Kim followed her father back outside. She grabbed a side of her bed and the other was picked up by one of the movers. He took one look at Kim and asked her, "I thought movers were the ones bringing the furniture in the house. Why are you holding the other end of this thing?"

"It's my bed." She answered, but didn't look at him. The mover looked confused. This bed was completely torn and dirty. But by the girl's tone he knew that she didn't really want to talk about it, so he pushed his curiosity aside.

Later that night James and Kim were sitting at an old beaten up table. James was hidden behind his paper while Kim just picked at the food on her plate. Her father hadn't taken a bite yet and she watched him cautiously. She couldn't cook, which was one of the reasons why she hardly ever ate. The only consequence was that she would be hungry, but when her dad didn't like her food, the pain was much worse.

James picked up his fork and stuck it in the spaghetti. He slowly brought the fork to his mouth, pulling the contents off he chewed just as slowly. He loved watching the fear in his daughter's eyes. He gently put the fork down and rose from his seat. He made his way around the table and past Kim. She closed her eyes tightly, praying that what she knew was about to happen wouldn't. Kim opened on eye. Maybe she was off the hook. She was wrong.

SLAP!

Kim fell from her chair, landing hard on the floor. "What are you trying to do?! Kill me?!" James loud voice echoed through the whole house. "What have I told you a thousand times?!"

Kim backed up from the man in front of her. "I...I..." she stammered her words, unable to get anything out. James brought his foot back and swung it into her side. She squealed in pain.

"Go to bed." With that James left the room.

Kim touched her stinging check, it was warm. Her side ached from the blow, but she managed to get up and stumble up the stairs. Once in her "room" she pulled her pajamas out of the suitcase and put them on. She looked in a broken mirror that was left in the loft by the original owners. There was a small bruise beginning where she had been kicked.

"Great, something else to hide." She grabbed her Pandaroo and a torn blanket from the suitcase as well. Kim wrapped herself tightly in the tattered material to keep warm and curled up into her bed.

_Kim squealed excitedly. She ran across the field, clutching the stuffed animal that looked like a cross of a panda bear and a kangaroo. Her long auburn hair blew in the wind. She was happy._

_"Momma!"__ The little girl squealed again and ran for the figure. She threw her arms around the woman's legs. The tears streamed down the four year olds face. "I love you momma."_

_Two warm arms came around her, holding her gently. "I love you too Kimmie." The wind began to blow and on off the bows that held up her pigtails blew out of her hair._

_"Wait!" Kim ran to catch it, jumping, grabbing, but it was just out of reach. One more jump, higher this time and the bow was in her hand, but something was wrong. She looked down at herself and realized that she wasn't four years old anymore, she was sixteen again.__ She spun around, fearing what she would see._

_Her father stood over a limp form. His face was full of hate and anger. He kicked the body across the room where it slid into some light._

_"MOM!!"_

_Anne Possible was lying lifeless on the floor. Bruises covered her body and she was surrounded by a pool of her own blood. The blood was seeping from a large gash in her head._

Kim awoke with a sudden jolt. Tears were streaming down her face and sweat soaked her. She hated these dreams. It was the reason she hated going to sleep. She loved it and hated it all at once. In her dreams she could escape the world and see her mother again, but they would always end the same, no matter how blissfully they started.

She gave up on sleeping that night; instead she pulled her legs to her chest and hugged them, rocking back and forth. Kim got bored after a while and decided to go see what time it was. She snuck quietly down the stairs and into the kitchen. The clock on the wall read "5:50 AM"

Once back in her room, Kim changed her cloths and sat on her bed. She would have to get up soon so sleep was pushed to the back of her mind. Now she was thinking of how bad her day was going to be. She was going to a new school, Middleton High. It might not be so bad, but Kim had a hard time getting to know people. Her shyness was due to the way she was treated. It sort of made her an outcast.

She heard her dad down stairs. She quickly threw her Pandaroo in the suitcase and grabbed her backpack. Her side was hurting and so was her arm from two day ago. She made sure to wear a long sleeve shirt and jeans to cover up the evidence.

"Get out here now!" Kim made her way down stairs and found her father in the kitchen.

"Here are the directions to the school. You're walking." James told her, thrusting a piece of paper at Kim. She read it over and left the house without another word.

Halfway there she spotted a group of teens walking on the other side of the street, talking and messing around with each other. It began to make her feel bad. Then she saw a couple making out on one of the benches in the park. Kim sighed and hung her head, letting her long hair fall in her face. This was not going to be a good day.


	2. Chapter 2: The New Girl

* * *

_"Women wish to be loved not because they are pretty, or good, or well bred, or graceful, or intelligent, but because they are themselves."_

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Kim sat herself down on one of the benches outside of the school. It was much bigger than her last one and she never fit in there, this was going to be twenty times worse. Middleton High. Her new school. Just another place to be picked on. Of course it was never as bad as when her dad would beat her. She sighed again for about the third time that morning, something she found she did a lot, and walked up to the school. She still had to get her locker and stuff.

The halls were filled with people. It made Kim feel so closed in and she hated that feeling. She had it enough at home, why here too. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she found a door with the words "_**OFFICE**_" painted on the window. Kim knocked a few times when a gruff voice ushered her in.

A large built man sat at the desk in front of her. His hair was cut short and he was wearing a brown coat. Sitting on the desk, along with an assortment or office supplies, sat a name plate with _'Mr. Steve __Barkin'_ engraved in it.

She felt extremely small compared to him, but she would learn later that almost everyone did.

"State your name." Mr. Barkin commanded, not looking up from the papers he was flipping through.

"A...K...Kim Possible." Dang. This guy was loud!

He grabbed one of the papers from his pile and held it up. "Ah yes, Kimberly Anne Possible. You just moved here and need your locker."

"Uh...yeah,"

Steve handed her a different sheet with her locker number and combination along with all her classes. Barkin stood up and opened the door for Kim.

"Just show each teacher that slip and they'll tell you everything---"

But he didn't get to finish. A blur of red and blonde slid past them, causing both teacher and student, along with a few other people in the halls, to jump back. There was a loud crash and someone yelling in pain.

"Stoppable! What did I tell you about sliding down the hallways?!"

The boy sat up on the floor and began rubbing his head. "Um...not to?"

Barkin was about to give the boy detention when the bell rang. He took one last look behind him at the janitor's cart that was tipped over with the contents slipped everywhere. "You can put that on my tab." And with that the boy was gone.

Kim watched him run down the hallways and around a corner where he disappeared from sight.

Barkin sighed, "I can guarantee there's only one like him in the world." He appeared very annoyed and Kim thought it was best just to head off to class.

* * *

She found school boring. In fact she always had. She never fit in and was too shy to socialize with other kids her age. She was always considered the outcast at her other school. She had one thing, she could do cheerleading, but it was impossible for her to wear those outfits and hide the scars at the same time. 

So she never tried out.

She had a knack for drawing as well. She had so much free time that that's about all she did. It became a bad habit during classes. Bu all this had come up from her other school and she knew that this wasn't going to be any different.

Never would she have guessed that she would be wrong.

Kim was walking down the hall to her last class before lunch. It was then that she ran into Bonnie Rockwaller. They almost collided with each other and knocked over half the cheer squad that was following Bonnie.

"Look out!"

Kim quickly scrambled to grab what she had dropped. "I...I'm sorry."

"Hey, you're new here aren't you?" Bonnie asked but truly had little interest in who she was, just that she had someone new that was at a lower rank in the food chain than herself.

"Yeah. I'm Kim Possible."

"Kim Possible. That's like not a name."

When Bonnie started laughing all of her cheerleading followers joined. They went on for a second or two before Bonnie cut them off.

"Look loser, just stay out of my way." Bonnie said, getting right into Kim's face leaving little to no room between them.

Kim took a step back. Bonnie snapped her fingers and her and the cheer squad pushed passed, still snickering.

This was no different. But is still hurt.

* * *

Kim was sitting at an empty table, stirring the bizarre mush they had served her for lunch. She wasn't even sure what it was, but it did _not_ look appetizing. 

She sighed sadly. Sure school was lonely, and she hated it, but she was away from her abusive jerk of a father. But she hated being alone. She had gotten used to it though.

She was too busy thinking that she didn't notice the person who had crept up behind her.

* * *

Ron Stoppable dropped his tray down on a table next to his friend Felix. 

"Mystery Meat again." Felix said with a sigh.

"Is it ever anything else?" Ron dropped himself into a chair.

Felix looked around the cafeteria when something caught his eye. "Hey, who's that?" he asked Ron, pointing to a girl sitting at an empty table.

"I don't know. Never seen her before."

"She must be new." Felix looked at his friend with a sly smile, "I dare you to go talk to her."

"What me?" Ron asked, pointing at himself.

"Yes you!" he answered waving his arms in the air. "You're mister optimistic, why don't you go say hi?"

Ron sighed. "Fine." He got up and walked over to the lonely auburn haired girl. He figured that he was just going to go over there and say hi and that would be that.

Never would he have guessed that he would be wrong.

* * *

Kim looked up. She jumped a little, not really expecting someone to be behind her. 

"Hi!"

It was him. That same boy who she had seen earlier. Buy now up close; his blonde hair was slightly messy and he had this goofy smile, but what got most of her attention was his eyes. They were deep pools of chocolate brown, but they seemed to hold a lot of emotion. Happiness.

"Uh...hi..." she almost didn't know what to say, was someone actually talking to her?

"Mind if I sit with you?" The boy asked, motioning to the empty seat next to her.

"Uh...sure...if you really want to." Kim was shocked that he was even asking. They just sat there in silence for a moment. Kim was trying desperately not to look like she was staring at his eyes.

"What's your name?"

"Kim Possible."

"Oh, I like it. Very unique."

Did he just say that?

"What's yours?"

"Stoppable. Ron Stoppable." He answered, doing a horrible James Bond impression, but it got a giggle out of her. She looked down at her plate, trying to think of something to talk about, but she wasn't good at that kind of thing. Something pink caught her eye.

"Hello!"

Kim jumped backwards in surprise. Sitting next to her tray was a little pink rodent. He had no hair and...did it just talk to her?

"Oh, that's my little buddy Rufus!" Ron said picking up the small mammal and holding to out to Kim. It climbed on her shoulder and rubbed his check against hers. She had to admit that he was kinda cute, in his own way.

"See he likes you!" Kim shyly pet the top of his head with her finger, which he seemed to really enjoy. He ran across her shoulder and scampered on top of her head.

"Oh, soft!" he exclaimed, rubbing his paws across her hair. Ron held his hand up and Rufus hopped onto it.

"Yeah, I'm not allowed to have any pets with fur 'cause my dad's allergic. Found little Rufus at Smarty Mart and we've been best friends since."

"Best friends" Rufus nodded his head.

"You're best friend's a mole rat?" This seemed kind of weird. This kid seemed like he could be pretty popular and yet here he was with a hairless pink rodent.

"Yeah well I'm not exactly 'Mr. Popular' around here." Ron said, using air quotes. "I'm pretty much considered the loser, but I live with it." He put his hands behind his neck and leaned back in the chair.

"Yeah well I think I out did you." Kim hung her head and started playing with the gray slob on her plate again.

Ron bit his tongue, deep in thought.

_Ding_

That little light bulb that rarely went on in Ron Stoppable's read sparked on. "Hey, why don't I show you around Middleton after school?"

Kim thought about this. She didn't see what was wrong, but she had on question. "You wouldn't care being seen with the new girl?"

Ron waved his hand in the air dismissively "No. You're new here and it's my job to make sure you know where everything is."

"Alright."

This was going to be one of the few great experiences in Kim Possible's life.

* * *

**Peggy:** Next chapter up! Thank to those who reviewed, I appreciate it :) 

The quote thing at beginning of the chapter, um...I don't know who it belongs to, but there will be one at the beginning of each one from now on.

Please Read, Review, and Enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3: Ron Stoppable

**Peggy: **Just thought I'd tell you all that this chapter will most likely be the happiest chapter in the whole story. In other words Kim finds out what it's like to have someone be your best friend. I would call it Friendship Fluff considering they aren't a couple here. (or at least not now XD) So this chappie is **full** or Friendship Fluffiness! Woo! You have been warned XD

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_"A friend in someone who knows all about you, and loves you just the same..." – Unknown_

* * *

It turned out that Kim had just about every class with Ron after lunch. This made it even harder of her to concentrate. She found herself staring at him and not even realizing it. What made him so special? She didn't know. She had only known him for like an hour. Maybe it was the fact that he had actually taken the time to talk to her. That he was going to show her around. It was like a part of Kim that had been closed for so long was finally opening up to him...

But we won't get into that now. We don't need to skip something as important as Kim's day after school.

Kim was sitting under one of the trees outside the school, waiting for Ron. Even though he hadn't got detention for sliding through the hall and crashing into the janitor cart, he had gotten it for turning the science lab into a cheese wonderland.

Kim was sketching out one of the tree's that was across from her seating place. Rufus was sitting on her shoulder. He was licking his paws trying to get the extra cheese off that was still stuck to him. He looked up from his work.

"Oh, pretty!" he squeaked and pointed at the drawn tree.

"Thanks." Kim scratched the top of his little pink cheese covered head.

"You ready to head off on the Tour de Middleton? Your guide will be, yours truly, Ron Stoppable!" Kim smiled weakly at the blonde teen who was now standing over her. Rufus hopped down and scampered up Ron's pant leg and onto his shoulder. He wanted to be present for the tour.

* * *

"Alright. I think we'll start from the top and work are way down."

He had already shown her around the outside of the school and some of the places inside, like the library and gym. Now he was leading her to the mall.

"Now, all this will be leading up to my personal favorite place in all of Middleton! So just hang tight." Ron seemed extremely excited about being the guide, he never really got to be the lead of anything, of course he preferred to let someone else do the leading and let him do the following.

Now, where to begin?" he said more to himself. "I know! I'll start by explaining the 'Food Chain' of High school." Again with the air quotes.

"At the top there's Bonnie Rockwaller."

"Yeah I ran into her earlier. Literally." Kim said, looking at her feet.

"Yeah, Bon-Bon isn't the nicest of humans. But her bark is worse than bite. She's more into verbal abuse rather than physical." Kim's face clouded over at the word 'abuse'. Ron noticed it, but didn't think too much of it at the time. "Anyway, she's head cheer leader and think that the world revolves around her. Got the whole cheer squad behind her, following her every command.

Then there's the football team. Most important player: Brick. He's Bonnie's off and on boyfriend, I think. It's really hard to tell sometimes."

Ron went down the list of just about every group of person in the whole school. Kim listened and was amazed by how much he knew about this.

"And then there's me. All the way at the bottom. But I don't really believe in this whole Food Chain cult thing. It's really just a way to put a lot of people down and a way for people, like Bonnie, to feel more important than they really are. Not to say she's not. I mean every living thing is, I just think she milks the attention for more than it's worth." Ron finished his lesson just before they reached the doors of Smarty Mart.

Ron put his hand out in front of Kim, stopping her in her tracks. "Our third stop: Smarty Mart!" Ron exclaimed with complete enthusiasm. Rufus seemed to share the same emotion equally. "This is where I got Rufus, making it the second most important stop."

Rufus nodded his head in agreement.

After a thorough show-around of the store Ron took Kim some more of his favorite places in Middleton, which included the arcade, numerous restaurants, and the house of the Load's. He said that the youngest member of the family was Wade Load. He was supposedly only twelve years old and the smartest kid you could find, but he'd never met him personally, just heard about him.

Kim was quiet most of the time. She would answer anything that Ron would ask and would occasionally ask him something, but other than that she just nodded.

"Now, we finally reach_ the_ most important place in Middleton..." Ron held out a dramatic pause, he had his hands over Kim's eyes so that she couldn't see where they were. "Bueno Nacho!" Ron took his hands off.

Kim found it rather interesting that the most important stop was a restaurant with a giant taco sign sitting next to it, but this was Ron's tour and Ron knew more than her right now. He led the way in and took her over to the counter.

"Welcome to Bueno Nacho Ron." The skinny man behind the counter didn't sound too happy to be there.

"Hello Ned! I just came by to show Kim how badical this place is!" Rufus jumped onto the counter surface and nodded.

"Yeah, badical!"

"So, the usual?"

"You bet!"

Ron was willing to share with Kim and his 'usual' had enough of two people and a mole rat, and long as two of them would eat less than they normally did.

"And what exactly is this?" Kim looked down at the food sitting in front of her. She had never really seen anything like it.

"It's a Naco." Ron told her. He placed something similar next to Rufus, who jumped right into the meat and cheese filled inside. "It's a cross between a taco and nachos."

Kim might have been hungry, but she still cautiously took a small bite. It was actually really good, despite what it looked like. She finished one and shared some nachos with Ron. She knew that she probably wouldn't be eating anything that night and decided that it was a good idea to eat now. While Rufus finished liking the cheese out of the nacho plate, Ron decided to ask Kim a little about her.

"So, why did you move here anyway?"

Kim didn't know what to say. She couldn't tell him the truth. Her father would kill her; then be arrested. So she made something up.

"Oh um...my mom was killed in a...uh...car accident a few years ago." Ron took her stammering as that she really didn't want to talk about her mom's death. That was part of it and there was the true story.

"His job wasn't paying very well so we had to move out here." Kim held her breath, hoping that he would buy it.

"Man, I'm sorry." Kim let out a sigh. He bought it! "It must have been hard to lose your mom. And then your friends when you moved."

"Oh yeah...my friends..." Kim did not like where this was going. Did he really have to bring friends up? She had never had any. This was all turning into one big lie and Kim was beginning to regret taking up Ron's offer earlier.

Ron noticed how uncomfortable she was getting and thought it would be best to change the subject.

"So, do you want to head to our last stop?" He asked, getting up and letting Rufus run up and sit on his shoulder again.

"Sure."

* * *

The last stop was a place that Ron came to often. It was a place that no one, other than Rufus, had been before. He brought Kim up to the top of a hill. A huge tree, taller than any others in Middleton, shadowed the hill. Pink flowered fell from it and covered the ground. If you stood at the top of the hill you could see almost every place in town, but that wasn't why he had brought her up here.

If you turned the other direction there was a similar view, only without Middleton.

Mountains sat behind a vast valley that reached from them to the hill and back again. Farther off was a forest of trees. There was no trace that the valley had ever been touched by human, and it most likely hadn't.

And it just so happened that now was Ron's favorite time to come here.

The sun was setting, turning the sky and ground different shades of pink, orange, yellow, and purple. Ron sat down under the tree. Kim sat next to him, not really realizing that she had, she was too busy watching the sun go down.

"Wow. I've never really seen anything like this."

"Yeah, I come up here all the time just to get away from the rest of the world. You know?"

Kim sighed. "Yeah." This was what she needed. Someplace where she could go and just get away from home. From the pain and yelling and everything her father put her through. And she had found it.

No, not where she was sitting right now.

Ron.

She enjoyed the whole afternoon with him. He told her everything she would need to know to survive the rest of the school year and showed her every place he had been, which was just about everywhere. But that wasn't all. He just seemed so outgoing with life. He didn't care that he was considered the loser, or that he was different from everyone else.

I guess you could say that he lived up to his own personal motto: 'Never be normal'.

Ron had told her a lot of things about him, right down to what he had never told anyone. He trusted her and he had only known her for less than a day. And she trusted him. If she could tell him everything she would, but she didn't want to move to a foster home, she could take care of herself. Along as she stayed out of trouble she could survive long enough to finally be able to move out of her father's house. She thought that everything would be fine after that.

"What time is it?" she asked, still watching the sun as it sunk lower to the earth.

Ron took his eyes off Kim and looked down at his watch. "Um...5:55."

"Crap!" Kim jumped to her feet. "I really have to go. My dad wants me home before six and I promised him that I would be."

By now Kim was in sure panic. She knew how angrier her father got and she came home late who knows what would fall on her. She stopped and smiled. Not a forced smile, a real one, which she hadn't done in God knows how long and it was all because of Ron.

"Thanks for showing me around."

"No problem KP."

"KP?" she asked.

"Well through the whole day I was thinking about it. Your first name is Kim and your last name is Possible. The first letter of each, when but together sounded kinda cool. It can be like your nickname or something."

"Alright, but...only you can call me that." Kim smiled at Ron before running down the hill and towards home.

"Bye KP."

* * *

**Peggy:** Kim gets her nickname! Yay! Haha alright, here's chapter 3. Thank you for the reviews everyone and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 


	4. Chapter 4: Mixed Emotions

* * *

_"True love is the only love with any true wroth." – __unknown_

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It was getting darker by the second, but Kim was too panicky to notice. She did not want to face her dad. That was not an enjoyable task to handle. She remembered the last time she was late.

She was only twelve that time. She was packing up her pencils into her backpack. She reached out to grab one and found that it wasn't there. She looked around, but at first she didn't see anything, until she came nose-to-nose with a ball of golden fur.

The puppy barked twice and dropped a pencil in front of her. She picked up the slobbery object, holding out a little. The puppy planted his paws on her knees and began licking her face.

Kim burst out giggling as she tried to push the dog off. Once she was able to get a good look at him she saw that he had no collar. He also had a white fur patch around his left eye.

Every little girl wants a puppy. But she knew her father would never in a million years let her have one.

So, she thought that maybe she could play with this one of a little. She named him Sammy and they played together. Kim found a stick and threw for him. He scampered after it, kicking up grass as he went.

They went on like this for longer than Kim had thought.

"Oh no! My dad's going to kill me!" Kim grabbed her pack and ran for her house. Sammy attempted to follow.

"I'm sorry Sam, but I can't take you home."

He looked down, dejected, but gave her a slobbery kiss. He giggled and rubbed the top of his head.

"Maybe I'll see you tomorrow!" She called over her shoulder as she ran off.

Kim entered a dark house. This wasn't a good sign. She slowly opened the front door and closed it quietly behind her. She tip-toed through the living room, silently praying she wouldn't get caught now.

Someone grabbed her wrist and yanked her to the ground. A light was turned on and she found herself staring into James burning gaze.

'Where were you?!"

"I...I...I found this puppy and I was..."

James smacked her across the face. "I don't care! I told you _**never**_be late! _**Ever!**_"

"I'm sorry!" Kim was shaking. She tried to crawl away, but James foot stopped her. He picked her up, digging his finger nails deep into her arms. She yelped out in pain, but that only made him dig harder, enjoying her pain.

He kicked open her bed room door. Her room was small, it looked almost like a closet, it had nothing in it but a torn mattress, the same one that she had now. He literally threw her in.

Luckily she landed on her bed, breaking her fall so that she wouldn't be hurt any more than she already was. He slapped the door and left. Kim heard the familiar clicking sound as her door was locked, like it always was every night until she had turned sixteen.

A few minutes later she heard her mother's voice, then there was a scream and a thud and that was it. She waited...and waited.

There it was. Her mom's crying. Sure she didn't enjoy that her mom was crying, but she knew that she was alive.

Kim curled up in a ball around her Pandaroo and wrapped a torn blanket around her body and over her face.

Her sobs couldn't be heard by anyone.

Kim grimaced at the memory. As she closed to home she shut her eyes tightly, to afraid to even look at the driveway. Slowly one eye opened. Kim let out a sigh of relief and dropped onto the concrete walk.

The driveway was empty.

The garage door was broken so they couldn't park the car in it, meaning that if her dad was home his car would be outside.

She flipped a light on in the house and looked around cautiously. No sign of him. Kim sighed again. At least she wouldn't get in trouble for being late. But the night wasn't over. All she really wanted to do was go to bed and avoid him all together, but she had cooking to do.

She grabbed a can of soup from the cabinet and turned the stove on, placing a pot on it. Yes, it was a can and yes, some how she would mess this up. She couldn't cook. It was as simple as that. So why did James continues to make her? She would never know.

She waited on the couch for a little, staring at the clock. When she heard the timer ding, soup was poured in the pot.

With it done and spooned into two blows, she tasted some. It actually didn't taste bad, maybe it was because it was from a can, but Kim didn't care.

_Click_

Kim jumped at the sound of the front door opening. She put the bowls on the table and sat in her seat as quickly as she could. James entered the house, dropping his keys on a table by the door. He walked into the kitchen and found the table set and his daughter sitting with her hands folded in her lap.

He walked silently to his chair and sat. Kim didn't move. This may just be her day, maybe.

Her father never did anything to her without a reason. Sure they were dumb reasons like putting the spoon on the wrong side of the plate or closing a door too hard, but he always had a reason. If he found nothing wrong with this meal she would be home free for the rest of the night.

The events of the night before replayed. He slowly picked up the spoon, brought it to his mouth, and ever so slowly stuck it in. After a moment or two he took another bite, and another, and another. Once half the bowl was gone he stood and walked over to Kim's seat.

Kim shut her eyes tightly again, waiting, but nothing happened. She opened them and realized that her father was gone. She looked around but he wasn't there. She heard a door upstairs slam and she knew that he was gone for the night.

She let out a sigh of relief and slumped down in her chair. She thought that maybe she should eat something, but decided against it and instead picked up the dishes and cleaned them.

After a warm shower Kim was actually feeling good. She figured that maybe because James hadn't beat the heck out of her, but that wasn't it. Ron was to thank for this feeling.

She slept peacefully through the night. Except the ever so frequent nightmare that would never leave.

* * *

Kim got up the next morning and found that she was actually excited to get to school. Why? She didn't know at the time, but something made her want to go. She was out the door as fast as anyone could go, avoiding her father entirely. 

Ron found that he felt the same way. He hated school more than anything, well, except monkeys, and he despised waking up in the morning. But this morning was different. He was ready sooner than he had ever been. Rufus was curious.

* * *

Kim was staring warily at the gray slop on her tray during lunch. So far her day hadn't been great, she could blame Bonnie for that and just about half the other kids there, but this food did not make it any better. Rufus ran up the table leg and stood in front of Kim. 

"Hello!"

"Hey Rufus." Kim was scratching his head when Ron sat down in the chair next to her.

"Why can't they feed us _good_ food? I mean I'm not even sure this is for humans." Ron exclaimed while dropping some of the 'food' from his spoon and back on the plate.

Kim pushed her tray away and crossed her arms over the table and used it as a head rest. "I don't know, but I'm starving." Rufus copied her (without the tray) and groaned.

"Wanna go to Bueno Nacho later?"

Kim almost literally jumped at the chance. She hadn't eaten anything since her last meal there. "Yes!"

* * *

Days turned into weeks and before she knew it Kim had been in Middleton for two months. And she and Ron became inseparable. You had to be blind to not see it. But with the life she led, she had to create excuse after excuse for different things. 

And James was only getting worse.

Kim walked through the doors and to her locker. She was usually glad to see Ron, but today she wasn't. Kim closed her locker and was face-to-face with him.

"Hey KP...w...w...what happened?"

Ron stared in shock at Kim. Over her right eye was a huge black and blue bruise and on her left arm was some sort of cast thing.

"Oh...I...um...tripped while...getting out of the shower." Was that the best she could do? It was dumb, but Ron reluctantly believed her.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah. I'm fine." Kim shrugged and walked down the hall. Ron watched for a moment. Should he believe her? Over the two months the two had become best friends and Ron knew that you should always trust your best friend. But you were also supposed to protect them.

So Ron decided to trust her.

When it lunch came around, Kim and Ron were sitting in their usual seats, but they were unusually quiet. Both were staring off into space, thinking.

Kim was first to break the silence, "Ron, can I talk to you after school?"

"Sure KP."

* * *

Kim sat in their usual booth at Bueno Nacho waiting for Ron. How was she going to tell him without her father knowing? Or more importantly, without him knowing she was talking about herself? 

Ron sat down and pushed a thing of nachos over to Rufus than did the same to Kim. "So, what did ya want to talk about?" he asked, taking a huge bite from his naco.

Kim took a deep breath and began. "Well, um...I was reading this book..."

"What's it about?" Ron shoved another bite in.

"Um...this girl, who's abused by her father..."

"Sounds kinda depressing."

Kim nodded slowly and folded her hands in her lap. "Yeah, it is." She paused. "And she meets this boy, who wants to be her best friend..." She paused again, praying that he wouldn't catch on. Luckily a lot of things went over Ron's head easily. When he just nodded and took another bite, she continued.

"And she wants to tell him, but she knows that if she does than she will be endangering both of their lives." Kim could feel tears burning in her eyes. She had to fight with everything she had to keep them back.

"Just wondering, why are you telling me this?" He still didn't get it.

"Well, the last chapter of the book is missing and I don't know how it ends. I was wondering if you could help me."

"Sure, that's why I'm here."

Kim forced a smile.

"So, where are you now?"

"The girl is trying to figure out a way to tell her friend what's happening to her, but she doesn't know how."

"Why can't she just tell him?" Ron had finished eating and was leaning on his arms on the table.

"Because, if she does she's endangering both of them and she doesn't want him to get hurt."

Ron creased his brow. He wasn't reading into this as much as he needed to, but he was defiantly getting into it. "Does she like, love him or something?"

Oh he just had to go there didn't he? Kim's jaw dropped a little. "Uh...well...I don't know. It probably says in the last chapter."

"I think that if he's really her best friend, he wouldn't say anything unless he really needed to."

Maybe he was right. Maybe she could trust him enough. But there was always the off chance that he did tell someone and then he would be in danger and she didn't want that. Kim looked over at the clock on the wall.

She smiled at Ron, again it was semi forced. He returned it, only his wasn't.

"Thanks Ron. I kind of have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow." She gave a small wave with her good arm and left.

Ron stayed. He was slightly confused that Kim would pull him aside for something as unimportant as the ending of a book. Of course now that he thought about it, he had known Kim for two months and every day she left before six and he had never met her father. Why was that? In fact he had never even been near her house.

And every so often she had some bizarre excuse for an injury. Ron was bothered by this all night. It kept him up, thinking. Something was wrong with Kim and he had to know what it was.

* * *

**Peggy:** It's not over yet! This chapter kinda leads into the deeper part of the story. 

Thanks to all who have reviewed. If I didn't reply back, it's because by email has been retarded. Thanks again. Read, Review, and Enjoy!


	5. Chapter 5: Rescued Angel

**Peggy:** Okay, before you began I would like to thank Jennifer Stoppable for her review. It really made me think. After I got it, I re-read the previous chapters and realized how rushed it seemed. Then some of her suggestion, which I will say _will_ defiantly be used later on, sparked more and more. It all resulted in to a almost twelve page chapter. Now I'm not updating with Chapter 6 very soon because I plan to revise chapters 3 and 4. I'm might do some things to chapter 2, but I'm pleased with that and 1. This all started out as a simple story and, in my mind, has evolved into something much bigger. So for the rest of the story, expect much, much longer chapters and much more detail, along with some brand new, interesting ideas :)

* * *

Thank you again Jennifer :)

* * *

_"...Pain doesn't hurt...when it's all you've ever felt..." – unknown_

Why didn't she tell Ron? She could escape all this if she could just tell him. But her father. No, she couldn't do that to Ron. He was her only friend and she didn't want him involved.

She knew she couldn't keep this up though. Some of the teachers were beginning to notice, than she would have to move again and Ron would be gone.

Kim sighed in frustration and threw her pillow across the room.

It landed just under the only window in the room, making it glow different colors from the sunset that was shining through.

Kim got up and leaned on the windowsill. The sun was hiding behind the mountains far off in the distance. The rays of colors lit up the rest of Middleton in a range of shades. The colors were beautiful, lighting up the earth.

She groaned and slid down onto the floor. Her hands covered her face, but one was quickly torn off. The contact with the bruise on her eye hurt. It was beginning to turn a bluish color that replaced the black.

She looked down at her hand and found that it was wet. She had been crying without even realizing it. More tears escaped, running down her cheeks. She just couldn't live like this anymore. She wanted out.

It was like being trapped in a bolted up box. No way in, now way out.

Pain. Sorrow.

Probably even some feelings that Kim couldn't come up with names for.

Was her life really as meaningless as her father said? Was she that worthless? Was she becoming this numb?

It just wasn't fair. She had never done anything to anyone. She was simply born into a world with no one to love and no one to love her. James had ruled over her and her mother. They were bent to his will and used for his own amusement.

She still hadn't forgiven herself for her mother's death...

Her stomach growled at her. She was starving, but there was nothing in the house to eat. James had gone out to eat with some co-workers and left her in a foodless-home.

Kim went to the kitchen and dug through the cabinets but found nothing except a box of crackers. She took those and went out to the backyard.

The coming night was peaceful; the only sounds that could be heard were crickets chirping and the soft wind blowing through the trees.

She sat down under one of the four trees that grew in the yard. It was darker there and cooler, but that's what Kim needed. After a few crackers Kim closed her eyes, just to rest them. The cool breeze blew against her face, pushing her hair behind her.

As the sun sunk lower, the world grew darker around her. Kim was growing tired and with every second that went by, sleep took over. She leaned her head back against the tree trunk and sighed.

Unconsciousness soon took over.

* * *

Ron punched a few of the keys on his keyboard. He waited for the search to finish and knowing his computer, it would be awhile.

Ron growled and smacked the top of his monitor. Rufus jumped in front of him and began chattering.

"I know beating my computer won't help, but..." Ron stared of dazedly. Rufus snapped his fingers, bringing Ron back to earth.

"Something is up with Kim. I have to know what."

More chattering.

"So it may be wrong to look someone up on the internet, but I have to know." Ron turned back to the screen.

Rufus pondered this for a moment before chattering his question.

"No I am not letting my curiosity get the better of me." He looked back to his mole rat. "I just think something is up that could be dangerous if I don't know."

Rufus jumped off the desk and scampered to Ron's backpack. He dug through some of the pockets before finding what he was looking for. He scampered back onto the wood surface and held out Ron's cell phone.

"I can't call her!" Rufus shoved the phone closer every time Ron protested. "No!" Ron snatched the phone from the mole rat's paws.

Rufus shoulders slumped; he sighed in defeat.

Ron went back to his search. He couldn't give up. Kim was his best friend. He didn't want anything to happen to her.

Rufus curled into a tight ball and fell asleep as Ron continued his search late into the night.

* * *

No, not the dream again. Wait...this wasn't the dream.

Kim sat up and rubbed her eyes. She was sitting on the cold grass surrounded by pitch darkness. The sun was completely gone leaving the only light for her to be the moon. Stars sparkled throughout the black blanket that hung above.

Kim was a little disoriented as she rose from her seat. She stumbled sleepily to the sliding glass door and into the house.

It was still dark.

James wasn't home, and Kim had a pretty good guess as to where he was.

When Anne was alive, you could call it cheating, but now that she wasn't...

James was usually home late. He would constantly go out with multiple women and then disappear. They would never see him again. He wasn't exactly one who could commit himself to someone. He used force to get what he wanted and bent others reluctantly to his will.

Kim thought it was disgusting. Of course she found a lot of things about her father that she hated. He honestly wasn't a likable person, except to those who behaved like him.

Kim glided through the leaving and out the front door. She looked in the direction of Ron's house, but knew that if she came knocking on his door at-whatever time it was-would make him suspicious. Little did she know that he was up still, looking up _her_ on the internet.

She shoved her hands into her jean's pockets and trudged down the sidewalk in the opposite direction.

She went on like this until she came upon a certain spot.

That certain spot just so happened to be the beach. She hadn't known that it was there before, but now that she did, it would become her place. Just like how Ron had his. She would come here often just to think, and even though she didn't know it now, she would meet another new friend.

Kim ran her fingered through the cool sand. She picked some up and let it slid through her fingers like water. There was a light breeze that blew Kim's auburn hair around her face. She became lost in the moment, just sitting on a peaceful, quiet, sandy shore.

But, like a lot of things in Kim's life, this didn't last long.

She snapped her head to the side at the sound of rustling bushes. She tensed up, holding her breath, clenching her fist tightly.

The rustling was replaced my light padding coming closer and closer to where she sat.

Kim's heart raced, pounding in her chest. It was dark and even though Kim could see, her vision didn't range that far away. Whatever or whoever it was couldn't be seen now.

Time slowed as Kim waited tensely for whatever it was. But, she didn't need to worry.

Out of the shadows appeared a ball of fur, but not just a ball of fur, but a dog.

He was defiantly a stray. You could tell just by looking at him. Places on his body had no fur at all and the fur that he did have, was ratty and mangled like it hadn't been brushed in the longest time. To top that off he was incredibly skinny. Not like greyhound skinny, but I-haven't-eaten-in-days skinny. He resembled a German Shepard, possibly crossed with a Dalmatian. You could that from the light spots on his paws and chest. His colors also reminded Kim of a German Shepard's.

He didn't look dangerous. His blue eyes were big and sad. You know that innocent puppy dog look. His head hung low to the ground and his tail was tucked under his body. From what Kim could see, he was shaking.

She watched him and he watched her. Both stayed put, unmoving. Kim blinked twice and so did he. She slowly moved her hand to her jacket pocket and found three crackers. She pulled them out and held them in her palm.

The dog cocked his head to one side, moving his gaze from Kim's eyes to the crackers she held. He took a few steps forward and stopped.

"Come here," Kim whispered, holding her hand out further.

The dog took a few more cautious steps. He turned his gaze back to Kim's eyes. Knowing that she wouldn't hurt him, he trotted to her hand and gobbled up the food.

Kim moved her hand to his head. Now that she could get a good look at him, she could see that not only was his fur matted, but it had splotches of blood in places. He shoved his nose into Kim's pocket in a search for more food. She giggled and pulled his head back.

"Looks like you have a lot in common with me, don't you?"

The dog smiled the best that a dog could smile. He understood her. Some people think that dogs don't understand humans, but truth is, they do. They just don't always listen.

Kim kept one hand cupped under his chin and used the other that stroke the top of his head. He seemed to enjoy this. She moved her hand down his neck and to his back. The knots were much worse than they looked. You would never be able to get a comb through them.

The dog's tail swooshed back and forth, whipping the air as it went. He flopped his tongue out and licked Kim's cheek.

It wasn't as slobbery as the one she got from the puppy seven years ago. That was a result of dehydration.

James wouldn't be home for a while...and she couldn't just let this dog go without water. His life was like hers, though she would never know how badly he was treated, she could tell that it wasn't what he needed.

She walked half way across the shore. The dog stayed where he was, watching every step that she took with extreme interest. Kim looked back; His eyes took on that puppy look again.

Innocent, sweet.

As Kim's eyes hooked into his, that fluffy tail whipped through the air.

"Come on," Kim called him. He responded with a big smile and wagging tail. He bounded over to her and did a circle around her legs.

He followed her back home, doing circles every other step.

Kim thought that he was adorable in his own little way. He looked like someone had taken a bat to him, yet he still kept a smile. He had hope that someday someone would find him and take care of him. Kim wanted the same thing, but it wasn't as easy for humans as it was for dogs.

When they got to the house the front door was still unlocked. Which was a good thing since Kim didn't bring her keys with.

The dog was hesitant to enter. He stuck his head through the open door first. Nose twitching as he sniffed the air around him, his ears doing the same. They locked onto a sound from the kitchen and he charged in without a second thought.

Kim had her head buried in one cabinet. Then another. And another.

By the forth cabinet she found a plastic bowl that people usually use for stirring cookie dough. She filled that up to the top with water and added a few ice cubs to it. The dog waited patiently at her feet through the process.

He had his nose in it before the bowl had touched the floor.

He slurped down half the water in seconds. It was apparent that he hadn't had any in a while. When the bowl was down to almost nothing, he scooped up three ice cubes and crunched them. With the bowl licked clean, he looked back to Kim who was now holding the box of crackers again. She pulled a few out and let him gobble them up.

"You can't stay here though." Kim said in almost a whisper.

As she ran her hands through his matted mess of fur, an idea popped up. Tomorrow was Saturday, she rarely ever did anything on Saturday, and she knew that her dad wouldn't be home from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM, if not later. All she needed for a busy day was Ron and this dog. He sort of sparked a light in her.

Her life was a living hell and this dog's was too. Kim Possible was determined to change that for him, she may not have been able to change her own, but his she could.

Kim lead him back out to the front yard and sat him down.

"I can't keep you in the house. But I promise to make your life better."

He wagged his tail in reply.

"Go back to the beach and stay."

She didn't know if he was even going to listen, but it was worth a shot. Kim straightened up, brushing the grass off her pants. When she touched the doorknob she looked back. The dog hadn't moved, but his tail still was.

"Go on."

He barked once and shot off in the direction of the beach. Kim watched him gallop off and noticed that he had a limp. She stayed until he disappeared from site.

He was another reason that she kept going.

* * *

_3...2...1..._

_Click_

Kim was up the second she heard the front door look. She ran down the loft stairs and leaned around the wall, peeking into the living room. She waited a few more seconds before running back upstairs to change. She threw on a long sleeve shirt and jeans. She grabbed her keys and ran out the front door.

The air was cool; not like the night before. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, casting the multiple colors over the earth.

Kim inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Her plans; get the dog from the beach – if he was even there – then go over to Ron's. Knowing him he would be willing to help her.

The beach felt just the same as it had the night before, only colder. The smell of salt drifted through the air.

Kim looked around, but didn't see him. Maybe he wasn't here. What if he had run off somewhere else and gotten hurt?

She sat in the cool sand and stared out across the blue ocean. She was too fixated on the scene before her that she didn't notice that someone was standing next to her. A dry, rough tongue brushed across her cheek.

The dog sat back on his hind legs and put his front paws in the air. He barked twice, but he already had Kim's attention

She was astonished that he had actually listened to what she said. She scratched the top of his head and handed him a cracker from the package that she had brought for him.

Kim was worried about him running off on their way to Ron's but he never strayed far. He would occasionally run ahead of her or off in another direction, but he always came back. That limp still there though and that slowed him down.

Upon reaching Ron's house, Kim became rather nervous. She didn't know why. It took some courage just to ring the doorbell. It could have been that one of his parents might answer the door and find her with a dog that looked like it could have some sort of disease.

The dog ran around the front yard, chasing the leaves as the fell, as Kim waited on the door step.

Ron answered.

He looked incredibly tired, like he hadn't gotten more than a few hours of sleep and wherever he had slept wasn't a very comfortable place. But as he saw Kim standing there his eyes brightened.

"Hey KP! What's up?"

"Well, last night on my way home I found..." Kim turned and whistled. The dog came bounding up to her and sat at her side.

"Wow, what happened to him?" Ron asked as he sat on his knees, looking the dog over.

"I don't know. But I couldn't just leave him out alone. Can you help me clean him up?"

"Sure!"

Ron ran back into the house. He changed his pants and grabbed the house keys. His parents were out too. He stopped midway and grabbed his wallet along with Rufus; both we're placed in his pocket.

"Alright! On to Smarty Mart!" Ron thrust his finger in the air over-dramatically.

Kim rolled her eyes. "Why are we going there?"

"Well I don't have anything for a dog and I'm gonna guess you don't either."

This made sense, so the four of them walked their way to Ron's favorite store in Middleton.

* * *

"And pets are allowed in here?"

"Yeah!" Ron looked back at the dirty, matted mutt sitting between them.

"Maybe not him."

Kim bent down in front of the dog and cupped his muzzle in her hand.

"You stay here. Got it?"

He responded with a bark. Kim ruffled the top of his head before turning and entering the store with Ron.

"Okay what first?"

"Well, I don't know. We need dog food and a bowl."

"Isle 10!" Ron exclaimed and ran off. Kim did a double take realizing that he wasn't next to her anymore. She looked around, spotting him sprinting down a corner. She had to run to catch up.

* * *

It was much harder to shop for a dog than either of them had thought. What seemed the most daunting was food. There were more kinds than one could count. They settled with some kind that had beef and vegetables in it.

Bowls weren't too hard since all they really had to do was grab two.

They grabbed some shampoo and a brush, though they were pretty sure that it would be no use. Kim ran back and grabbed a shaver and scissors.

Than Ron got caught up in toys.

It took twenty minutes for Kim to get him out of the isle.

They grabbed a bed and s few other things. It was a good thing that they were at this particular store otherwise they wouldn't have been able to pay for everything.

Ron, without Kim knowing till the last second, picked up a book with dog names in it.

Most people would think they were shopping for their first baby.

Kim was the first to exit the store, but the dog wasn't there were she left him. Just by looking around she couldn't see him. Worried, she frantically eyed the area.

"Hey KP, I think something's wrong with him." Ron's voice called from her left.

Ron was leaning on a newspaper dispenser; he had his head down looking under it. Underneath was a trembling mat of fur. His eyes were wide with fear.

"Hey boy, come here." Kim coed. At the sound of her voice, he came running out from under his hiding place and straight to her. He sat almost under her, he was still shaking, but not like before.

Kim stroked his head which calmed him down.

"What happened?" She wondered aloud. It wasn't really a question directed to Ron, since he would have never known he answer anyway, but he still answered.

"I don't know."

He looked so scared. If he was human, he would have turned pale. His shaking subsided as Kim stroked his head. He refused to move from his secure spot, until his trembling stopped altogether. Through the whole thing, his eyes would dart from left to right, like he was waiting for something.

He leaned his head back so that Kim's hand would slide off into his licking range. She let him for a short time, wondering what had happened while they were away. It must have been something bad if it sent him into hiding.

Once Kim was sure he was alright, they headed for Ron's home, but this was something else that Kim would be up late at night with, pondering.

* * *

Ron was in the backyard, looking through a shed for something to wash the stray mutt in.

Kim sat in the front, watching their day project run back and forth, chasing leaves and, every once in a while, his own tail.

Ron came back minutes later with a large tin tub.

He didn't know _why_ they even owned it considering that he had never seen either of his parents use it for anything, but right now he was glad that they did have this thing.

He proceeded to fill it up with water from their hose. Kim called the dog and he bounded to her side.

"Time for a bath buddy."

His eyes went large and he slunk back a few steps. He wasn't afraid; he just didn't want to get in. Like when little children don't want to pick up their toys or take a bath.

"Oh come on." Kim put one had under his neck and the other under his back legs. He didn't weigh as much as a dog his size should. Kim noticed that when she found that even with a sprained arm she was able to lift him.

She carried him over where Ron and the tub were waiting.

The dog had stiffened in her arms, but once he touched the water, he began to splash, soaking both his bathers.

"KP, I have a question." Both had begun working the shampoo into the matted, dirty, bloody, fur.

"Sure,"

"How are we supposed to get this out?" He asked, pulling at a huge knot. It was so thick the dog didn't even feel the tug.

"Well, I know we're never going to get this out with a brush..." Kim took the hose and rinsed the soap off his back. "So, I bought something to shave it off."

Ron stopped and looked at her incredulously.

"We're going to make him bald?!"

"Hey!" Rufus scowled from his perch on Ron's shoulder.

"No offense buddy."

"Well no. We'll just have to cut it down really short. Like a short haired dog."

At that very moment, the dog took his chance to shake soap and cold water all over them, again.

Kim squealed.

"Hey!" Ron and Rufus both said in unison.

The dog barked happily, almost like he was laughing at them. It was like he had planned that.

So he smelled better. That was about it. He was still covered in dirt and blood in a few places.

Kim and Ron had spent an hour just washing him and got nowhere when it came to his mess.

Ron wrapped a towel around his body and lifted him up, placing him next to Kim. She pulled out their shaving device and flipped it on. And the dog wasn't bothered by it.

He sat obediently still as layers of his fur dropped to the ground.

Ron looked down at the pile. "I think we could build another dog." Kim smiled, but said nothing more.

Upon hacking the mess off, they found were the blood had come from. Small cuts had been placed throughout his body and on his left shoulder was a larger, sealed, gash. Kim made sure to be very careful cutting around those.

* * *

With their task completed, the pair sat underneath a tree in Ron's front yard, watching their accomplishment roll his self around the ground.

Both looked almost dry. Ron's hair was messier than usual and Kim's still showed signs that it had been wet at one point.

The dog looked much better.

His hair was shaved down making him look more like a Labrador. The one thing they left fluffy was his tail. Kim thought it was cute. They knew that it would grow back, but this time they wouldn't let it get the way it was.

Now they were stuck. What did they do with him now?

Ron couldn't take him since his father was allergic to animal hair and James would never let Kim have any pets. They both stated these to each other as the pondered their options.

This whole conversation of options changed to the subject of what to call their four-legged, furry friend.

Of course they never did use the book and it later ended up in Ron's closet somewhere. They exchanged names, but just couldn't seem to find one that fit. They went on like this for another hour.

"Duke?"

"No,"

"Sampson?"

"Nope,"

"Charlie?"

"I don't think so,"

After some time, Kim came up with something. She had the idea running through her head since she found the dog. Sure it vanished every so often, but it always came back as it had been when she abandoned it. Sure she came up with a bunch of names that had a similar meaning to this one, but those names only worked if he was a she.

But she had it now. And Ron and Rufus agreed.

Chance found his new home.

* * *

**Peggy:** Thank you to those you reviewed, it really means a lot; it's what keeps me going :) And, I'll even give you a little hint as to what is happening in the next chapter.

It involves a car ;)


	6. Chapter 6: Just an Accident

**Peggy:** I am soooooooo sorry for the freakin' long wait! I truly feel bad about taking so long. After my finger healed, I was busy with school and then I found a little bump in my stories plot. I got stuck trying to fix things, but it's all good now :)

* * *

_Love to fault's is always blind,_

_Always is to joy inclined._

_Lawless, winged, and unconfined,_

_And breaks all chains from every mind – William Shakespeare_

* * *

"What if he like, runs away?"

"I doubt that."

Chance ran back to Kim and Ron from his place in the alley way entrance. He skidded to a stop in front of them, tongue hanging out from his chase with a squirrel. Ron ruffled the top of the dog's head and received a lick in response.

After they had given their new pet a bath and picked a name for him, home arrangement soon came up again. It wasn't that difficult though; Kim's house and the house next door had an alley like gap in between them, giving Chance enough room to have his own little space. A blue and tan cushion was pushed back behind some of the trash cans that sat out there, hidden from James sight.

Chance seemed rather happy with his 'home'. He was busy exploring the area while Kim and Ron just sat, watching him and talking about whatever came to mind, like best friends do.

The sun was already starting to set, and Kim knew what that meant.

"I should go." Ron said, reluctantly pushing his self off the ground.

"Yeah," Kim mumbled.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Ron said and ran off into the streets.

Kim stayed, playing with a strand of her hair. Chance noticed her quietness and crept slowly to her. He whimpered softly and pushed his head under her free hand.

"Now for the worst part of my day." She mumbled, to anyone else it would have been unintelligible, but no one really needed to hear what she said, or at least, so she thought.

Chance followed her to the front door, but was stopped there. Kim bent down and pulled Chances face between both her hands.

"You have to stay in the alley, alright?"

Chance wiggled out of her grasp gently and licked her face then bounded off the porch and back to the quiet darkness next to the house. How smart was this dog exactly? He just continued to amaze her.

Kim dug through the cabinets in search of something to please James for dinner, not that he was ever easily pleased. It was like an impossibility with that man. Nothing ever made him happy, except to watch his daughter crumple in defeat.

There was absolutely nothing in the house to eat, so Kim opted with grabbing a box of pasta and can of sauce.

* * *

Something was bothering Ron. That was hard to do because of his extremely outgoing personality and optimistic behavior; things didn't bother him much, except the things that didn't need to bother him. He had been told that once or twice, or more. But now he was extremely bothered. He had basically paced a hole in his bed room floor. 

Rufus sat by the computer, tapping his foot impatiently. Ron had been going at it for an hour and a half now and the little mole rat was getting hungry.

Ron stopped in his tracks and scratched his head. "Why have I never met her father?"

The question was directed at Rufus, but he wasn't paying any attention. Ron pondered this for only a few seconds before going back to his pacing.

Rufus let out an annoyed groan and slumped onto the cool wood of the desk, mumbling to himself.

"She seemed different today. Like she was really enjoying herself. Like she was actually..." Ron paused, searching for the right word, "...happy."

Ron looked to his mole rat friend, "What if her dad has something to do with it?"

* * *

Kim sat in front of her mirror, unconsciously rubbing the new bruise she now had just above the sprint on her wrist. So maybe pasta wasn't such a good idea for dinner again. Though she expected this to happen again tonight, James had a hard time going for too long without watching her suffer. 

She sighed and pulled a big shirt over her tank top. Scars covered, Kim chose to just stare at her reflection, something she truly hated doing. What was so special about her anyway? She whipped the tears out of her eyes before they fell down her cheeks. She suddenly got this urge to see Ron.

It surprised her slightly; he was her best friend, but still. She was lonely.

Kim crawled onto her mattress, curling up into a small ball as if she was trying to hold herself together. A few more tears spilled down her face.

It was a good hour before she was able to close her eyes, but her sleep was far from peaceful. Nightmares once again plagued her, but something was different this time. It started out the same, James killing her mother, but she didn't wake up, it kept going.

_James reached for her, wrapping his fingers around her neck. She gasped for breath, clawing at his fingers and thrashing violently. His grin grew as his daughter withered in pain in his grasp__. Kim felt herself blacking out, when a loud growl echoed off the invisible walls._

_James snapped around in the direction of the growl. They were met with a bright, blinding white light. It engulfed the two, it didn't affect Kim, but James let out a piercing scream and withered to the ground, dragging Kim down with him._

_Kim looked up, but her father was nowhere to be seen. Instead what she __saw__ shocked her._

_Blocking out a good portion of th__e light was a person. A shadow cast over their face, making it impossible for her to see. But set in the middle of where their face most likely was, were two chocolate brown eyes. _

_Standing next to it was what looked like a huge dog. It nearly reached the humans shoulders and had gleaming white teeth. It raised its head up into the air and let out a long howl._

_"K.P."_

Kim's eyes snapped open.

What the heck was that? She had never had a nightmare anything like that, or was it a nightmare?

Now she knew she would never be able to get back to sleep. Kim threw her blanket off and tip-toed into the hall. She snuck around the house and to James bedroom door. Holding her breath, she pressed her ear against it. No sound came from the room; she tip-toed to the living room and peeked out the window; no car.

She let out the breath that she had unknowingly been holding and slumped into one of the chairs.

She closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the chair, very slowly falling back to sleep as the room became disoriented. Seconds from sleep, a small scratching on the door followed by a drawn out whimper brought her back.

Opening the front door, Chance threw his front paws on her chest and licked her face excitedly. She giggled and tired to push him down. He obliged and dropped on his own, running back down the steps and around the corner.

Kim followed and was met by a big fluffy face with a bowl placed between its teeth. She pulled the huge bag of dog food from behind the dumpster and scooped some into the bowl. Chance buried his face into it. Kim chuckled, running her hand over his head and leaving him to eat his breakfast.

She ran back to the house and to her "room". She pulled her clothes on, wincing from even the lightest touch. Then she left, not even bothering to eat breakfast, there wasn't anything anyway.

* * *

And it was back to the pacing. 

Ron walked back and forth in front of Kim's locker. Where was she? Did something happen to her? Was she sick? Did the aliens come and take her to Jupiter?

All these questions ran through the blond teens mind, though the last one was the _very_ unlikely. He looked at the clock, again, for what was probably the tenth time in three minutes and they only had two more left until the bell rang.

"Hey Ron."

"Ahhh!"

Ron flew two feet into the air. Kim jumped back and wrapped her arms around her middle out of habit.

"Heh, sorry K.P." Ron said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "I didn't hear you coming."

"It's fine." She dropped her arms, blushing slightly from the fact that she had reacted the way she did. Hopefully Ron didn't notice.

The bell rang, causing Ron to scream again. Kim giggled and grabbed his arm, pulling him off to their first class. Kim had had her classes moved around a little. Some of the teachers said that she was too intelligent to be in some of the classes. How she ended up with most of the classes that Ron, none of the students really know. Only the teachers knew.

Kim and Ron sat in their normal seats in the second to last row. Rufus jumped out of Ron's pocket and made himself comfortable on the desk.

"Alright class!" Barkin clapped his hands loudly, startling the half asleep and day dreaming back to reality. "Today we are starting..." he took a long, much too drowned out pause, waiting for someone to say something. When no one did he sighed.

"Your regular teacher is out today. He tried to rescue his neighbor's cat from a tree and is currently in the hospital with a broken collar bone." He made it sound like an everyday thing, which, when it came to the teachers missing, it usually was.

He flipped the switch on the projector and turned to his class.

"Stoppable! Turn off the lights!" Ron scrambled from his seat and flipped the lights off, leaving the class in darkness. After a good four minutes of waiting and listening to Ron stumble back to his seat, hitting three kids and tripping twice, the class began.

"Alright, now today we will be starting..." another drawn out pause, "Driver's Ed."

A good portion of the class cheered while some groaned. Ron looked terrified, as well as Mr. Barkin as scenarios of Stoppable behind a vehicle played through his mind. After the excite meant wore off, the rest of the class turned to look at Ron, terrified, for their lives.

"What?!" Ron yelled, trying to push his own frightened thoughts to the back of his mind.

"Class!"

Mr. Barkin's yelled caused everyone in the room to snap their attention back to the front. Ron sighed a slumped low in his seat.

After having their full attention, Barkin pressed play on the projector and the long, boring movie on driving safety rules began.

By the time the torture was over, the whole class was doing something else, whether it was reading, drawing, or talking to their friends. Ron was slumped over his desk, snoring and drooling all over the wood.

Every head turned and followed Barkin as he quietly made his way over to Ron's desk.

Kim shook him slightly, whispering his name, "Ron?"

He snorted as a response.

Mr. Barkin stood a few feet back and slammed his hand right in front of the sleeping teen.

"The Japanese are attacking!!" Ron screamed, bolting up right. The sudden movement in such a small space made him tumble off the seat. The whole class was laughing hysterically, except Kim, who grimaced and looked down at her friend apologetically and offering him her hand.

He took it a pulled himself up off the floor.

"Well, now that that's over, everyone outside!"

* * *

Ron and Kim sat on the curb, waiting for their turn to take a drive with Mr. Barkin. Ron was getting extremely fidgety, bouncing up and down on the spot. Kim put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down. 

"Stop, please." Ron looked up at her, his eyes wide.

"I can't KP, I know something is going to go wrong. What if I wreck the car or crash it? What if I run over half the class? Oh my god...I didn't even think of that! What if I accidentally murder the class?! I'm a MURDERER!" He was going into hysterias. He leaped up and began running around the sidewalk, screaming at everyone to get inside if they valued their life.

"Ron? Ron?!"

Ron stopped his rampage and looked at Kim, "What?"

"You're not a murderer. You aren't going to kill anyone." She reassured him.

"You sure?" Ron asked, finally settling himself back down next to Kim.

"Positive." She said, patting his shoulder.

Ron calmed down and relaxed, along with the rest of the students, but that was short lived when Mr. Barkin spoke.

"Stoppable!"

"Ahh!" Ron leaped into the air and began pleading. "I'm too young to go to prison! It's not my fault I have made hand-eye coordination! Please don't let them take me!"

Barkin sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Stoppable, just get in the car."

Visibly shaking, Ron slid into the back seat of the car. "The front Stoppable!" Ron winced and climbed into the driver's side.

Barkin got in the front, clipboard in hand.

Kim watched from the sidelines with everyone else. "Put the car in drive." They heard Mr. Barkin say. The car moved a few centimeters forward before lurching backwards. Ron screamed and attempted to jump into the backseat. The students watching flinched, covering their heads with their arms.

"This is going to be a long day." Barkin sighed.

* * *

"How did you manage that KP?!" Ron exclaimed, waving his hands in the air. 

Kim shrugged, "I don't know. It's really not that hard."

After Driver's Ed, the day went by uneventfully. Ron and Kim were walking home, after Ron got out of detention of course. He managed to make it through the lesson without injuring anyone, if you don't count the cone that flew through the Teacher's Lounge window and knocked out the cafeteria lady.

"Still! You were the best driver in the class! You're the only one who passed with an 'A'!"

It was true, while everyone passed – except Ron- Kim was the only one with a perfect score. Mr. Barkin was truly amazed and advised Ron to take lessons from her after school, and that was exactly what he planned on doing.

"You have to teach me!"

"What?" Kim stopped walking. She couldn't have heard that right.

"Help me!" Ron dropped onto his knees and hugged Kim's legs. "Please?" he pleaded.

Kim was shocked for a moment, "Uh...I guess I could he..."

Ron leaped to his feet, not letting her finish her sentence, and pulled into a giant hug. Kim held her breath, trying hard not to groan from the pain that shot through her back.

"Thank you so much KP!" Ron let go and ran ahead. Kim stayed put, taking a few deep breaths to subside the pain that was threatening to take over her whole body, just because of a hug.

* * *

Ron ran into the house, depositing his back pack onto the floor of the living room. Kim followed, keeping her bag on. 

"Dad! Can we borrow the car?"

Mr. Stoppable put the newspaper down, very slowly, and shook his head. Was his son insane? "What?"

"Can we borrow the car? Kim said she would teach me to drive."

Mr. Stoppable looked from one teen to the other, contemplating his answer. "And you'll be behind the wheel son?" he asked cautiously.

"Yup!"

He stopped to think, choosing his words carefully. "Umm...Ron, I don't think that's the best idea. I like my car and we can't afford another right now."

"So that's a no?"

"I'm sorry, but, yes."

Ron sighed, hanging his head in defeat. "Fine." He mumbled and trudged out of the house, Kim close behind.

"Sorry Ron. I would help if we had a car." Kim placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

_Ding_ Light bulb.

Ron's head snapped up, his eyes wild with excite meant. He spun around to face Kim. "What about your dad's car?"

A look of terror crossed Kim's face. "Uh, well that might not be possible." She stuttered, trying to come up with a good excuse as to why they couldn't use James car. Because my dad is an abusive person who beats me up every night and would most likely kill me if we used his car. No, she wasn't going to tell Ron that.

"Please?" Ron pouted, giving her those big puppy dog eyes.

They were standing in front of Kim's house, the car sitting in the drive way. Of course Kim knew that James wasn't home. Once a week he would come home from work, drop off his car, and then go out. This just happened to be that day.

Chance poked his head out around the corner. A smile spread across his face causing his tongue to flop out of his mouth. He bounded over to the teens that were standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

Kim bit her lip. This wasn't a good idea, but Ron was her best friend. James didn't have to know. They could get back before he got home and he would never know any better.

She sighed. "Fine."

"Yes!" Ron jumped, punching the air.

* * *

"D stands for drive, R is for reverse and P is for park. You don't need to know the others right now." Kim explained, pointing out the different shifts on the gears. "Pull it into reverse." Ron did so, "Then gently put a small amount of pressure on the gas pedal." 

Ron did as he was told, taking great caution in pressing the pedal. Ever so slowly, the car pulled out of the drive way. Successfully making it out, a huge grin spread across his face. "I did it!" he exclaimed, smiled at Kim.

Kim smiled and pointed to the shift. "Good, now put it into drive."

He did so.

"Now gently put pressure on the gas again." Ron very gently pushed it. The car slowly moved forward at a very snail like pace.

Kim helped him around the block a few times at a safe speed and he surprisingly did very well. Corners were more difficult, but after a few tries, he made it. Ron was ecstatic with his progress and let most of it – okay, all of it – go to his head.

"Let's go faster!"

"No Ron that's not a..."

He didn't let her finish. Ron slammed his foot on the pedal, sending the teens speeding forward and a dangerous speed. Ron involuntarily let go of the wheel out of shock. The car jerked to the left and spun in a circle. It hit a bump and turned off its circular course, straight into a lamp post.

The teens sat, unable to move, in the car, watching the smoke clear. Letting go off her seat that she had been clutching for dear life, Kim got out of the car to inspect the damage.

"Crap." She mumbled.

The front of the car was pushed in, most likely crushing the engine. Smoke continued to spew from under the hood. She lifted it and smoke flowed out. Coughing, Kim waved the smoke away to get a better look inside. You didn't have to be a car expert to know that something wasn't right here.

"Crap," She groaned again, using the car for support as her legs suddenly felt incredibly weak.

"This isn't good." Ron mumbled, coming to stand next to his best friend. Kim slowly shook her head in agreement.

Siren wailed from the distance. Kim and Ron watched them pull around the corner and come to a stop behind the smashed car.

"I got a call saying that a car crashed out here." The officer stated as he stepped out of his car. No, duh.

"We're really sorry! It's my entire fault! Don't send KP to jail. Take me instead!" Ron stuck his arms out for the officer to hand cuff.

He pulled off his sunglasses and looked incredulously at the blond boy. "We don't need to take you in." Ron straightened up and went back to Kim's side where Chance had run over to.

"I am Officer Fred." He pulled out his notepad and looked at the teens. "Now, what exactly were you two doing?"

Kim and Ron shared a nervous glance at each other. Kim gulped and began their explanation. "Well, you see, I was teaching Ron here how to drive..."

Fred cut her off, "And do either of you have a driver's licenses?"

"Uh, well, no..." Ron answered.

Fred nodded and scribbled something on his pad. He put his glasses back on and looked at the teens from over the lenses. "It looks like all we'll have to do is call your parents. Can I please have their numbers?"

* * *

Kim paced through the kitchen, mumbling, "Not good." over and over. And she was right. She had agreed to Ron's plan as long as the car came back and James never found out, well that was going to be hard since an officer called her father and know his car had been towed away. 

Now all she had to do was wait for the storm to come home.

She was torn from her thought as the front doors slammed open, making a dent in the wall.

"KIMBERLY ANN POSSIBLE!"

Kim shut her eyes tightly, waiting. She didn't have long, something came flying, smacking her across the face and sending her into the counter.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" James yelled, but he didn't give her a chance to speak. Bringing his foot back, he sent a swift, hard kick into Kim's side. She managed to get a small apology out before James fist met her stomach.

"It was an accident." She groaned, rolling away from her father.

"Accident my foot!" He grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her up into a standing position. He held her inches from his face, watching the tears pour from her eyes. "Quiet cryin'!" He spit and threw her across the room. Kim hit the side of the couch and crumbled to the floor. James stomped out of the room.

Kim buried her face in her hands and cried. It was all she could do. She knew he wasn't done with her tonight.

* * *

He hadn't seen Kim since after their little accident with the car. Of course he was grounded, but he could still see and talk to her at school. Ron ran down the school halls toward Kim's locker. When she wasn't there he turned the corner and smacked into something hard. 

Ron came face-to-face with Mr. Barkin.

"Stoppable! What do you think you're doing?"

"I was trying to find Kim." Ron explained, rubbing the back of his neck , something he did whenever he was nervous or worried.

Mr. Barkin looked disappointed. "Really? I would think you of all people would know where she was."

"Do you know?" Ron asked, his excitement to see her building.

"I do."

Ron raised an eyebrow. Mr. Barkin sighed and finished, "Her father called, she's out sick today.

Ron's eyes widened, "What?"

* * *

**Peggy:** I'm sorry! That was cruel of me to make you guys wait and then leave you with a cliff hanger. But it was needed for things to work. Now, I won't tell you anything EXCEPT that this story will NOT be ending in the next chapter. There is still a lot that has to happen. So there will be much more for all my reviewers to enjoy :D Also, sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes. I don't have a beta so no matter how many times I look over this I'll probably miss something :P And when I said I would be re-writing Chapters 2-4, that will happen AFTER the story is complete. 

Please, Read & Review and Enjoy!


	7. Reviving, Rewriting, and Redoing

Sorry everyone, but this – sadly? – not a new chapter. I know I haven't updated this in a loooong time. Reason being that I have had not only no inspiration, but no TIME to write anything :/ When I started here I was homeschooled. I'm not anymore and haven't been for a good almost 3 [school]years now. I was in 7th-8th when I made this account, now I'm a Junior in highschool. I don't exactly have time for writing fanfictions very often with school and a social life.

So I've been dealing with a lot lately. But I really would like to continue this story because I like the concept and I know where I'd like it to go. So I've decided to re-write it. Yup, I'm gonna start aaaaaall over. My plan is to take the chapters I have and redo them to make them better. To fit my style of writing now. Back then I was too innocent to certain ideas and concepts and had a hard time writing certain things. I no longer have that and I feel I could make this a much better and darker story now.

Bare with me everyone, 'cause it could be awhile before I get going but I AM going to do it. I'm determined to at least make THIS story good. I really do hope that those of my readers of this story that are left will stick around – and a very big thank you to those who even HAVE stuck around – because I really am going to try and make this the best I can :D

Sincerely, Peggy~


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